Back to Austin
by smudgyfingers394
Summary: AU. After jane confesses to lisbon in bluebird she still leaves and gets married to pike. Now its 2 years later and she is back in Austin. Why is she back, what does she plan to do and how will Jane respond? Multichapter. Disclaimer: I dont own The Mentalist
1. Chapter 1

Her mind was numb. She still couldn't believe that this was actually happening. That two years after her wedding to him, to Marcus he would cheat on her. So soon. Even when they had a daughter together.

She was holding her only a year old daughter, Alaina in her arms sitting in a cab that she had taken after getting off at the airport. She didn't know what she would do now but she did know that she wasn't going to forgive Marcus. Not ever.

Lisbon had walked out of their house in Washington with her daughter, some cash and some clothes before boarding a flight for Austin. From there she had taken a cab that was going to take her to the FBI headquarters. She still wasn't sure of her long term plan but right now she planned to talk to abbott about getting her job back then she would stay at some motel before renting an apartment.

Although she had to admit that a big part of the reason why she was going there right now was because she wanted to see Jane, to talk to him. To tell him what had happened. She wanted the support and comfort of her best friend.

Even now when she was so full with worry about what had happened, her heart still fluttered at the thought of seeing Jane again after two years. Jane who had all but hijacked a plan to confess to her his love for her. But still she had gone to DC, to Pike and still had gotten married.

Maybe her marriage with Marcus would not have worked anyways because she didn't truly love him. She had just deluded herself into it. Into thinking that Pike was the safer choice, the better choice. But of course he'd proven that he wasn't by cheating on her then lying about it when she confronted him the first time. She'd caught him red handed though when she'd walked in on them doing it in _her_ room. Still the thought of it brought tears of anger to her eyes.

She was jolted out her reverie as the cab came to a stop in front of a familiar looking building.

As she got out of the cab with Alaina she thought of what she would say to jane when she saw him. For all she knew he had just said those things to her at the airport to stop her or even if he hadn't then what was too say that he hadn't moved on. Gotten married for all she knew. She stopped her river of thoughts; it was too painful to think of Jane with another woman.

Instead she tried to focus her thoughts back on Jane and when she would meet him.

She was brought out of her thoughts again as the elevator door opened into her old working place.

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 **Please review and tell me if I should continue :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER 2**

 **Thank you all for reviewing:) you made my day 3. I'm gonna try and make the other chapters longer and more interesting. Please review and let me know ;). Hope you enjoy this one.**

 **Jane's POV**

Jane had been lying lazily on his couch. The team did not have any active cases. Normally he would go back but today he just did not want to go back to the cottage.

After Lisbon had gone to DC, Jane had bought a little shack near a lake and had had that remodeled. He knew that it was time to move on, that Lisbon had chosen Pike but he just couldn't bring himself to stop hoping that maybe she might come back. He had bought the land because when he had set his eyes on it he had known that if Lisbon had stayed then he would have liked to build her a home there, although he kept telling himself, deluding himself that it was a step forward,a step towards getting settled.

Lying idly on the couch with nothing to occupy him always led to thoughts of Lisbon. From what he had heard from Cho about her was that she _had_ gotten married and now had a daughter.

He sometimes wondered like now what he would do if she decided to come back to Austin, to him. It wasn't like him to thing of such unlikely and impossible scenarios but sometimes he just couldn't help himself. He was sure that his feelings for her were still unchanged. With that his train of thoughts went back to the day he had left him saying it was too late... A quote came back to him "It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live."

He blocked his flow of thoughts and tried to distract himself by looking around at the bullpen and observing Cho and Wiley. Jane whose attention was fixed on Cho heard the elevator door opening and Cho looking around. He (cho) then got up with an expression of surprise on his usually deadpan face. Wiley also got up following cho's lead. Jane looked around curiously to see who it was to shock Cho like that. When he saw who it was his heart nearly failed.

 _It_ _was Lisbon._

And she was holding her daughter in her arms, Pike however was nowhere to be seen. She looked more or less like she always did albeit a bit tired. Her posture was tense and there was worry in her eyes. He could tell something was wrong. He briefly wondered if something had happened to Pike. Even now he couldn't help hoping that she had changed her mind. Like the other two he also got up to greet her.

She caught his eye and they smiled at each other. For a fleeting second it seemed that no time had passed between them, that nothing had happened.

Cho and Wiley were asking her where was Pike after asking her how she was. She brushed of their questions saying she wanted to see Abbott. She topped near him as she made her way towards the senior agent's office. For a moment neither of them knew what to say to each other then-

"Hey", Jane greeted her softly.

"Hi", lisbon was trying not to look at his eyes.

"So is that her? Your daughter?" He mentally scolded himself, what a stupid question of course it was her daughter.

"Yeah, her name is Alaina. Alaina Grace."

Jane noticed how she avoided saying pike's name. So it was something that Pike did. He would to kill that jerk for hurting her.

"So where's Pike? Did you come alone?" Evidently she had been hoping that the question would be asked later. Jane saw her look rather angry at the mention of Pike's name.

"Yeah i came alone. I'll uh tell you later. Can we talk alone after I've talked to abbott?" Lisbon asked almost awkwardly.

"Sure see you outside in a moment then" Jane assured her with an easy smile which she returned.

"I can watch Alaina if you want while you talk to abbott. She's asleep anyways and I'm sure Cho and Wiley would like to see her too." Jane put forward the request.

Lisbon looking rather flustered carefully handed Alaina to him. "Um sure if you want to." Jane's arms formed an automatic cradle as he took her from Lisbon.

It had been so long since he had held a child like that in his arms. It was a beautiful feeling. Alaina opened her eyes drowsily for a second but then her tiny eyelids fluttered close as she went back to sleep. Alaina had a small mop of wavy dark brown hair and green eyes shaped like her mother's. Jane thought she was a smaller version of Lisbon. Lisbon seeing that Alaina had gone back to sleep went inside abbott's office with a last backwards look.

 **LISBON'S POV**

She was surprised by Jane's request but tried to hide it as she handed Alaina to him. Just seeing Jane had seemed to cheer her up. She now had a friend to talk to who would listen to her, who would understand her. Although she still didn't know if Jane was involved with someone but simply seeing her had comforted her that maybe the future wouldn't be as bleak as it seemed to her.

With one last book she took a deep breath then entered Abbott's office.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hi so its been almost 2 years and…Im sorry. Assuming someone is still reading this, Im gonna try and update sooner in the future because now ive got an outline for the rest of the chapters. This is probably going to be 6/7 chapters long and im committed to finishing it.  
I want to thank all those who reviewed and to answer Idonthaveaname  
It's AU so Abbott is still their boss and fischer hasn't left either in this fic.I should probably have added it in the first chapter.  
Also I absolutely don't ship Pike and Lisbon.  
I hope the story meets your expectations : )**

Lisbon saw amazement flit across Abbott's face as he saw her enter his office. It had been 2 years since she'd left so his surprise was inevitable. Arranging her face in a friendlier expression, she approached his desk.

"Teresa, hi! What a surprise! How are you?"He spoke enthusiastically.

"Im fine," she tried to smile. "What about you?"

"Oh you know me. Healthy as a horse. Take a seat so we can catch up." He said pleasantly to her.

"So what brings you here? Did Pike and Alaina come along?" he asked coming to the matter at hand.

"Uh..no he didn't. I came alone with Alaina." There was a pause before she continued. " I actually wanted to talk to you about my job. Im moving back from DC so I was wondering if there was an opening in any of the investigation departments?"

"Well as it happens we have an opening in our department. A new member Rick Tork joined after you left but transferred to the cybercrimes unit just a couple of days ago and Fischer is on a 2 week holiday so we're actually one member short." Abbott looked like he wanted to ask more questions but answered nevertheless. "Jane drove tork crazy without you to control him." He added with a grin.

"Thank you so much." She smiled with relief at his words and his mention of Jane.

She made to get up however before she could, Abbott asked the question she dreaded the most, "So are you and Pike moving back to Austin?"

"No", her voice was harder than she intended.

"Is everything all right between you and Pike?"he pressed not seeming too eager to quit the topic.

After a moment of strained silence she got out, "We're separating."

She saw the surprised look flit across his face which was soon replaced by that of pity. He seemed to want to know more but before he could open his mouth to ask anything else, Lisbon cut him off with a firm, "I don't really want to talk about it right now."

Saying it out loud that she and Pike we're separating seemed to make it more real and bring back the sore memory of her fight with Pike to the forefront of her mind. The brief moment of happiness at the news of getting back her job was now replaced with her anger with Pike. She meant it when said that she didn't want to talk about it. The last thing she wanted right now was to lose her composure in front of abbott.

"So when can I come back to work?" She tried to break the uncomfortable silence that had descended upon them.

"Well you'll be able to join in a week unless you want a couple of weeks to sort out your…personal problems ." Abbott finished awkwardly.

"Sure. Um thanks. That would be great. I'll see you in a couple of weeks then."She replied thankfully getting up.

"It's great to have you back Agent Lisbon." Abbott said as she was at the door.

This time the smile wasn't forced. "It's great to be back boss."

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Lisbon saw Jane holding Alaina while Wiley, Cho and a red headed women she'd not seen before were standing at his side. Alaina had woken up and was punching her little fists in the air while babbling up at them.

She made her way forward, sighing under her breath as she would have to tell her colleagues the reason for her return sooner or later. Her showing up with her daughter without Pike was bound to arise questions. She decided sshe would first talk to Jane then tell the others once she returned to work. They probably could guess and maybe Abbott would tell them so she wouldn't need to answer any questions.

She wanted to talk to Jane first. To tell him why she came back, why she left in the first place and more so than anything, she wanted to ask him if he really meant what he'd said two years ago.

Alaina raised her arms up at her on seeing her and Lisbon took her from Jane. Their hands brushed and it was then that she noticed that Jane was not wearing his wedding ring. She didn't have time to dwell on it though because just then Cho asked the dreaded question.

"Good to see you. So you and Pike coming back to Texas huh?"

"Well not really. Listen, you can ask Abbott he'll tell you. Im joining the team in a couple of weeks though and I'll explain then." She didn't want to give any explanations in front of the women she didn't know.

Just then the red head said something about security footage and gestured towards the desktop. He said a quick bye before following her. Lisbon briefly wondered if they were dating.

"It's great to see you back Lisbon." Wiley said with a grin before adding, "Your daughter is really cute."

"Thanks" Lisbon grinned back as he too went to join Cho with a wave. Both had realized that Lisbon wasn't really in a conversational mood. This left her alone with jane who until now hadn't really said anything.

Jane broke the silence. "It's great to see you again. Wiley's right, Alaina is beautiful. She looks just like you." He didn't mention how it was beyond great to see her back and how much he'd missed her. How he'd had a sliver of hope two years ago that she might actually stay. How he'd been broken when she hadn't though he understood that he'd been too late and how much it had broken his heart again to see the wedding invitations and a year later; the pictures of her and _Pike's_ daughter.

Lisbon blushed remotely at the veiled compliment before once again mumbling another "Thanks."

She wanted to talk but after being out of contact for two years aside from the invitation to her wedding, she didn't know what to say. However she was save any more worry by Jane.

"Let's go downstairs. We can talk there."

She agreed with a ready "sure" and walking downstairs with him, felt a wave of nostalgia wash over her. She remembered how easy it was before and wished she'd never left. Maybe the only good thing she got out of it was her daughter. Seeing him again made her regret, for the first time in a long time the last two years of her life.

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They were both sitting on a bench in the parking lot. There was awkwardness in the air around them and Jane could sense that she was rather nervous.

He could tell that she and Pike had had a fight and he wondered if they were splitting up. If they were he was sure that it was Pike's mistake. He'd  
always been to pushy and controlling.

He did not want to see her unhappy as she was right now but now that she was here…As much as he tried ignored it and as much as he hated it, he could not help the flicker of hope in a part of his heart, dormant for long.

He'd felt resentment towards her sometimes in the past for leaving and settling so easily in her life but the happiness of seeing her there and in front of him had overrode it all.

In the past two years he'd dated three women. He thought he could settle down but in the end when he thought of a future with them he'd ended up comparing them to Lisbon and a future with them to a future with Lisbon.

In the end, this was what had led to him ending his relationship with them. After the confession to Lisbon he'd finally gotten to be at peace with himself but had been unable to move on completely with someone else. He'd decided that it was because he needed more time. More time to forget and move on.

Getting the news of lisbon's daughter had proved a turning point and he had bought a cabin, a house for himself and taken off his wedding ring but still he could not feel that way for another woman the way he had felt for Lisbon. The way he still felt now. He had resented her for leaving, resented himself for being too late but that couldn't compare to now.

As he looked at her, he realized that the reason why he could not settle down with those others was that he was still truly in love with her.

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 **Hope you enjoyed! And once again sorry for being back from the dead after so long.**  
 **If someone's still reading it plz review and let me know : )  
PS plz also let me know if you prefer long paragraphs or shorter ones.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4  
**  
 **Thank you to all the guest reviewers for the reviews and im so glad you liked it. I love reading them.  
MonkeyFump20, ****Clairebare** **, Miss Myra, TessaH, pjn1945, LoveJisbon, FanfictionReader Im so glad you liked it** **J** **  
LouiseKurylo I hope it meets your expectations : )  
JisbonShipper69 Soon ; )  
Sorry for the wait so here's a longer chapter : )  
**

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"So you and Pike are separating?" he asked getting straight to the point. It was more of a statement than a question.

"Yes, we are." She answered after a brief pause, not meeting his eyes. Judging by her expression she hadn't expected him to be so forward with her.

"What did he do?" His words came out harder than he intended.

 _He cheated on me._ But she could not get the words out. She could feel her eyes burning and turned away from Jane, still trying to get those four words out.

"It's alright if you don't want to talk about it. I understand. I won't pry," Jane told her gently in a softer tone. He could see it was making her upset to talk about it and that was the last thing he wanted.

"No it's fine. It's still a bit overwhelming I suppose." She took a deep breath before continuing but could not stop the tears that pricked her eyes as she said with evident difficulty, "He-he cheated on me."

Although Jane had suspected it to be something along those lines, he was nevertheless shocked to hear it confirmed. Despite his shortcomings he hadn't thought Pike to be the cheating kind. He felt a sudden surge of anger towards him for putting Lisbon through that.

"Yes I saw them myself." She felt a lump in her throat as the picture of Pike naked with his colleague came back to her. Her tears brimmed over then and she had to choke back a sob as she continued. "In _our_ house. I left after that."

The last time he'd seen her so upset was when she's been framed for murder. It pained him to see her like this but he doubted that anything he said could make her better so he put his arm around her shoulder, holding her close to him. He saw it as a good sign when she didn't push him away. They sat like this for a few minutes with Lisbon basking in this small moment of comfort where she did not have to worry about Pike, even if it was only for a few minutes.

Alaina who had been quiet in her mother's arms up till now started to fuss and they broke away.

"I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me," Lisbon said embarrassed as she shrugged out of his warm embrace and focused her attention back on her daughter. "She's probably hungry. I should get going now."

"Where are you going? Your old apartment?" Jane asked as she made to get up. He'd thought that she'd rented it out when she moved out.

"No. I rented it out and the tenants still have a couple of weeks left till the end of the month. I guess I'll just stay in a hotel or someplace till then," she told him with a sigh. Truth be told she still hadn't completely figured thing out.

He frowned at her words."Not that it's any of my business but are you sure staying with Alaina a hotel would be wise. I mean wouldn't you be uncomfortable there?"

It did not concern him but he didn't like the idea of Lisbon staying at a "hotel or someplace". He put forward his suggestion before she could interrupt him, "I bought a cabin near the woods a few months ago and I had it remodeled. You're welcome to stay there. Besides it will be more comfortable and I'll be there." He added that with a grin of his old self.

To be truthful Lisbon didn't much like the idea of staying at a motel either. She was still short on cash and didn't know when she would be able to get her things back. And the thought of being alone was scary for some reason. Jane's company would be the cherry on the top. However she did not want to trouble him especially if he was seeing someone.

"Thank you for the offer," she answered sincerely, "but I don't want to cause any trouble to you. Besides I wouldn't want to invade upon your privacy or anything."

Her answer made him wonder if she thought he was dating someone. He'd taken off his ring so it was quite a plausible theory. If that really was the reason than she'd never ask him that aloud.

"Come on. You won't be 'invading upon my privacy' as you say it." He emphasized on her words with air quotes. To clear any misconceptions she had about him dating he continued, "I'm not dating anyone nowadays either so it'll just be us. I'll even be able to help you out with Alaina."  
He could sense her resolve crumbling at his words so he carried on, "I thought we were friends. Partners." He ended on a questioning tone.

Lisbon who had felt an inexplicable relief at his words when he said that wasn't dating, felt the last of her resolve fall apart as he ended. Unfathomable warmth spread in her body as he said that they were "partners" and she suddenly felt lighter and better than she had all day.

Jane was smiling at her in a way that told her that any further protests would be in vain. After another halfhearted refusal she gave in and agreed to stay with him until her old apartment was vacated.

She had agreed but there was still a question at the back of her mind, bothering her. They hadn't talked about their last encounter at the airport yet.

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She was seated in Jane's car with Alaina in her arms. She'd drifted off to sleep on the way.

"What happened to the silver bucket?" She asked with a small smile playing at her lips. She assumed that he still had it but like so many other thing his car had changed too. He now had a SUV instead of the airstream he'd had earlier.

"Meh. I grew out of it." In answer to the questioning look in her eyes he elaborated further, "I changed it when I decided to move to the cabin. I decided I might as well get a car that doesn't say 'im on the move'. Gives the wrong idea to girls you know," He added the last comment with a grin at her.

Lisbon felt a small pang of jealousy in her chest. He hadn't made any similar kind of gesture with her but made it for some random women instead.

He was right about the message that came across with his airstream though. When he'd chosen it out of all other options, she had been surprised and disappointed. She had come to the conclusion that this would be no different than before. That this too was temporary, lasting only until he got bored. That he'd escape the first chance he got.

It had rid her of any hope she had of his settling down. Of the job with the FBI being permanent. She had even fostered the hope in some part of her that Jane would ask her out or at least show some kind of inclination towards settling down, towards moving on so she would know. But he hadn't even taken off his ring let alone move into a proper residence. There was nothing to tell her whether that "thing" with the FBI would be permanent or if he would run away like before and leave her alone.

She'd flirted with Marcus to gauge Jane's reaction, to see if it would incite him to ask her out but he hadn't. Then Marcus had asked her out. And he had seemed like a good guy.

Jane's interest in her after she started dating angered her at times. It made her think that she was no more than a toy for Jane that he only wanted when someone else showed interest in it. It made her feel like she was Jane's insurance policy. That he'd taken her for granted thought she'd stay waiting for him forever.

She remembered clearly when he had stopped the plane to confess to her but didn't know if he meant it or if it was just a ruse to make her stay and that he would take it away like he had one before. She hadn't stayed because she had thought she was setting herself up for Jane all over again and that if she stayed, he would abandon her once again the moment things got a little difficult. Marcus had been her safe choice. But time had proved her wrong.

Her train of thought came to a halt with the car as they arrived at their destination.

The setting was beautiful. It seemed right out of a fairytale complete with a pond and quacking ducks. When Jane had said 'cabin', a completely different picture had come to her mind. The house she was seeing right now was built along modern lines with a rustic touch that spoke of Jane. It was double storey with glass panes that gave the house the touch of modernization.

"Wow", was all she could manage as they got out the car. Alaina had nestled in her mother's arms and was sleeping contentedly.

"Thank you. I knew you'd like it." Jane was smiling at her expression. "C'mon I'll show you inside." He gestured towards the house.

His hand came to rest on her lower back as they were walking and for a moment it felt like old times. Lately so much had happened in her life that it now seemed divided into two parts. Before she left and After. Walking into Jane's house, Lisbon felt herself yearning for the before and wondering what kind of life she could've had if she had taken a different decision. If she had stayed.

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There were four bedrooms in the house out of which two were completely furnished. One was downstairs that was Jane's room and the other was on the second floor in which Lisbon was to stay. Jane had graciously offered her his own room but she had refused not wanting to inconvenience him further.

Jane had shown her the room and given her a tour of the house before leaving her to unpack with her daughter and her thoughts to keep her company. It was night time and Alaina would now likely wake in the morning. That would give her time to take a long relaxing bath before going to sleep.

Lisbon started unpacking and placed her glock in the drawer made of mahogany wood that matched with the queen size bed. There was a double closet in the room that was empty aside from a couple of shirts folded in the corner. It was after placing her clothes in the closet in the room that she realized what she had forgotten.

Her sleeping wear. Aside from her 'Lisbon 99' jersey she hadn't brought anything suitable to wear while sleeping. Making a mental note to ask Alison, her colleague from DC to mail her stuff to her she put on the jersey after her bath with a groan, not having any other option at that point.

Checking on the sleeping Alaina one more time she headed downstairs to the kitchen where Jane was supposed to be waiting for her hopefully with something to eat because she was starving.

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Jane had ordered a Pizza for them that had arrived by the time Lisbon came downstairs.

He had his breath taken away when she entered the kitchen. She was wearing her jersey that said 'Lisbon 99' and her damp hair were curling around her face. Her jersey ended mid thigh and Jane couldn't stop his eyes from travelling downwards. His mind wandered as he wondered what or rather _if_ there was anything worn underneath it.

She looked so alluring in her short jersey that Jane had to force himself to look away to greet her.

"Hi," a pink flush crept up her face as she saw Jane looking.

"Hey," Jane greeted her, tearing his eyes away from her slender legs. He noted how endearing she looked when she blushed.

"Pizza's here", he informed her while drawing out a chair for her. "Why don't you sit down so we can talk while eating?"

"Sure." She sat across him and grabbed a slice of the Pizza. They ate and after exchanging a few customary dialogues, Jane asked her something he'd been wanting to since she had told him the reason for returning. He thought she was likely to handle it better now that she was fed and relaxed.

"How did you find out? About Pike?"

She took a deep breath and started. "I was at work and Alaina was at daycare. I got off from work earlier so I decided to head back home early because lately I had been feeling like I was neglecting my family. So I picked Alaina from daycare and headed home. Only when I reached there, Marcus was already there. "She twisted his name before going on. "He was there with Amy, a woman from his unit. She's half his age." She stopped then, seemingly unable to continue but then went on.

"I walked in on them while they were having sex. Having sex in _my_ room." Instead of crying this time she sounded angry and her voice was harder. Jane did not say anything nor asked her to continue.

He was angry with Pike himself. He had been the luckiest man who had had one of the best women on the planet and this was what he had done. Jane had a sudden urge to punch him and would have done so had Pike been there.

He looked at Lisbon again. He was wishing right now for her sake that she had stayed. Not chosen him or stayed for him but just stayed back. He wished she had never met Pike and she wouldn't have been hurt like this.

The question he had wanted to ask her but hadn't had the courage to do so was boiling inside him. He understood but he had to hear it from her. The words burst from his lips before he knew it.

" _Why_ _didn't you stay_?"


End file.
